Sherwood Rogue

Chapter Thirteen

Late one evening, after dinner was over and things were settling down for the night, Robin and I were sitting by the fire when I looked up to see two strangers approaching. I jumped to my feet half a second behind Robin. They weren't armed, so I didn't draw my knife, but I was ready as I took a closer look.

It was two women—one maybe sixteen, the other about twentyfive. They were dirty from travel and looked as though the trees had gotten the better of them at some point. They both had blonde hair that was cut short, as though by their own knives.

I looked behind them to see who had brought them in.

"Who are you?" Robin looked beyond them, just as I had. "Who brought you here?"

"We came ourselves," the younger woman said, her tone bold and proud. "Are you Robin Hood?"

Robin nodded and sized them up. "You came here on your own? You saw no one as you came in?" His voice was flat and I knew someone was in trouble for sleeping on duty.

"No one showed us. We found our own way." The young girl smiled smugly. "We saw your guard, but he didn't see us."

"He was awake?" Robin asked.

"Yes." The younger woman looked at the older woman, who wasn't smiling, and her face fell.

"Who are you?" Robin asked again. "Why are you here?"

"I'm Jenny, and this is my sister, Jana," the younger woman said. "We are here to join you."

Robin stared at them, then made a small signal with his hand.

Behind the women, Edmond the Jew moved. I shifted my gaze back to them.

"You want to join us?" Robin echoed. "It is not an easy life, here in the forest."

Jenny stiffened. "You have women here, even one standing beside you. We—"

Jana whirled, grabbing Edmond's outstretched arm, twisting it behind him and bringing him to his knees. A knife materialized in her hand and she pressed it against his throat. Edmond was smart enough not to move.

Jana looked up at Robin, whose eyes widened in surprise. "We have been used badly enough, Robin Hood," Jana spoke for the first time, her voice hard and bitter. "We did not come here to be used again. Either you take us in, or we go."

"What will you do if I send you away?" Robin asked.

Jenny spoke up. "We'll go south, live on our own. That's where we were going, but it was my idea to stop here." Jenny was on her guard now, as well.

With a grunt of disgust directed at Robin, Jana let go of Edmond. He stood, backing away from the women. Some of the others snickered, and he turned to glare at them.

"Stay." Robin smiled at them. "At least for the night. We will talk tomorrow."

These women surprised me, especially Jana's anger. I didn't know what could have happened to make them come here on their own, but it must have been bad. Selfishly, I thought it would be good to have some female company at last.

As was his way, Robin considered the issue overnight, then spoke to them privately the next morning. When the three of them returned to the camp, the women stayed. Robin never told me why he allowed it, or if he had considered sending them away. He only told me they were good enough to stay. Just finding the camp in the first place and getting past an awake guard showed him they could be useful.

***

LATE THAT SUMMER, we robbed Prince John as he traveled to Nottingham. We knew he was coming and had planned our attack weeks in advance, this being the most daring of all our escapades so far.